Baka's 1998 Build

As she sits today (7-26-2019) [Those are 36s, baby, yeah!]





(5-20-2018)





(10-21-2017)




(10-16-2016)






(2-20-2015)




(6-7-14)





(1-4-14)...







Photos by Tony (FearNothing321) Thanks, Tony! They are beautiful pictures!

Tony's website: http://bluemoonoriginals.smugmug.com/






Odd Green Taco Mods:
--LED cab clearance lights
--Hot Rod Flatz Olive Drab Green paint
--Aluminum tread plate bedrail caps/tailgate protector
--Painted side and rear badges, tool box, bedrail caps, and tailgate cap black
--4x Innovations rock sliders
--Eaton True Trac front diff w/ 4.88 gears
--Detroit Locker w/ 4.88 gears in the rear
--3" OME (883 Springs) coilover lift with rear Dakars
--2" Body Lift
--2" Engine lift (trans lift pending)
--36x12.50-15 Super Swamper TSL/SXs
--Procomp Series 97 Flat Black 15x8 steel wheels with 3.75" back spacing (.25" wheels spacers on front)
--Extended rear brake line
--1" front diff drop
--Autometer 5 inch Monster Tach
--2003 Toyota Matrix AWD Longer Wheel Stud Mod on front end
--Cobra 25 LTD Classic CB w/roof-mounted 3' Firestik Firefly antenna
--Rear Diff Breather Mod (On-the-front-bed-rail version)
--Sway Bar Delete
--BudBuilt Front Skid Plate
--Garmin GPS
--28" LED light bar in front bumper
--Flush mount LED light pods in rear bumper
--Paranoid Fabrications switch panel under the radio
--CBI frame reinforcements
--Ruff Stuff Anti-wrap spring perches/u-bolts/top plates/shock mounts
--New rear crossmember for upper shock mounts (fabbed by Todd)
--Rear Shock relocation
--Adjustable bumpstop pads (fabbed by Todd and myself)
--Extreme duty front crossmember/skid plate front mount (fabbed by Todd)
--Axle located ~1" aft of previous setup thanks to the adjustable center pin holes on the perches and top plates
--CBI ditch light brackets
--Ditch light pods (flood pattern)
-- @allenfab recovery crossmember welded to front framerails
--Ruff Stuff shackle mounts and receiver hitch welded to crossmember by Todd
-- @allenfab custom hybrid front bumper
--LED front marker/turn signal lights in bumper with Superbrightled resistors
--green LED bulbs in factory marker lights
--Scan Gauge II
--Autometer Sport Comp Oil Pressure gauge
--Blue LED Instrument cluster lights
--10K lb Warn Xeon Winch
--Modification of front bumper for the winch and body lift
--(Pending) Weld in my new Ruff Stuff traction bar
--(Pending) HC rear bumper w/tire carrier

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Hiya, all. Just joined the forum after buying my first Tacoma last week (5/2/13). I wanted to do a build thread to share some of my goofy/lame ideas, get input on things to do, and show the evolution of my Taco.

I'm on an extremely thin budget, so that will factor greatly into my planned mods. I'm also coming from a different discipline than most: swamp mudding (the main option for wheelin' in FL). This is the other consideration for some of my choices.

My Tacoma:
1998 Xtracab SR5
3.4L V6/5-speed manual
4WD
177,000 miles

Here's a pic of the truck from the Craigslist ad I found it on:


The truck runs great and has a fairly straight body aside from a few dings in the tops of the bedrails. It also came with a diamond plate aluminum tool box. It currently has a 2' Pro Comp above-the-strut spacer/rear AAL lift on it that will be getting replaced. The paint, however, is in pretty rough shape with the clear coat wearing off in several places. Seems to be a common problem with black vehicles in the FL sun.

Planned Mods:

(Done) Cab Clearance Lights
(Done) Paint
(Done) Lift
(Done) Sliders
(Done) Tires and Wheels
(Done) Locker
(Done) Install Tach
(Done) Install CB
(Done) Sway Bar Delete
(Done) Rear Diff Breather Mod
(Done) Rear Locker (Detroit)
(Done) Install Oil Press Gage
(Done) Blue LED Instrument Lights
-- LED Marker/Stop/Turn/Backup/Tag Light Bulbs
-- Plate Bumpers (Front Done)
(Done) 4.88 gears plus Detroit Locker Rear/Eaton true Trac LSD Front
(Done) 2" body, engine, and trans mount lift.
(Done) 36x12.50-15 TSL/SXs on 15x8" wheels
(Done) 2.5" cat-back exhaust with a 50 series Flowmaster and a tail pipe that doesn't cook my right shock, haha.

Wish List of things I'd Like to do if I hit the lotto:

3 lnik SAS with TG Rock Assault or Diamond front axle.
Bell crank rear 4 link.

 

Looks like a perfect platform for an awesome build!

Welcome to TW!

 

Thanks for the welcome! It would be a perfect platform for an awesome build. Unfortunately, it's mine now.

I really want it to be a '98 version of my '83, only nicer with an extended cab and better tires...



This truck was so much fun! Hopefully the Taco will be too.

 

I finally went out and took some pics of the truck that show how rough it is paint-wise. I also removed the fender flares for when it gets painted but I kinda like it better without them, so I may not put them back on. I may have to do some trimming on the fenders anyway to clear my wheel/tire choice, so it's probably better that way.









As you can see there's lots of room for improvement.

 

All in all, you've got a good platform for a great rig. Congrats and welcome to TW

 

Thanks! Lots of good information, ideas, and people here.

Now if only someone would buy my old F250, I could get rolling on the upgrades to my Taco instead of just drooling over what everyone else has done...

 

Why did you part ways with the 83 ?
Those are tough trucks

 

Yeah, I really loved the truck, but the piston rings were shot out as were the valve guide seals. It looked like a mosquito fogger going down the road. When it got to the point that I had to put oil in it more often than gas, I had to let it go. 22Rs were getting hard to come by and the ones you could find might as well have been gold plated for what people wanted for them. I already had an 87 that I was working on a Chevy 350 conversion on (which I unfortunately never completed before I sold it), so I couldn't really justify keeping it.

After that, I got on a full-sized kick for hauling my ATV around and now I've come full circle and am able to cross another "most desired" vehicle off my list, an xtra cab Toyota.

 

I'm really eager to post some progress on my build, but to do that, someone needs to buy my old F250!

Sold!!!!! Yay!

 

Looks like you got some good plans set out for it, when i was looking for my truck i stayed away from trucks that had bad paint jobs because i really didn't want to pay for it and most people wouldn't budge on the price, even to help pay for the paint job

 

Yeah, I know what you mean. Unfortunately, first gens are scarce as hen's teeth around here and the price was right for this one. Of course, I didn't think it would take this long to sell my old truck and I planning on using the proceeds to have the Taco painted and pay for the upgrades.

Anyway, the body is really straight aside from a couple of dings in the tops of the bed rails which could be covered by a set of bed rail caps. I'm hoping that means it won't cost much to paint. Although I'm tempted to rattle-can it OD green like my '83 was. That way if it got scratched up on the trails, it wouldn't hurt my feelings as much and could be easily fixed. But I'm restraining myself for now.

 

I know how you feel I drove 800 miles down and back for mine, the rattle can would be a good alternative but it's hats to make it look good from what I've heard

 

FYI .. the bad spots in your paint is from oil ... oils from your skin... and lack of wash/wax thru time...caused the clear coat to go
Hence is why its only on drivers door (arm out window) and bed rails (reaching in/out)

keeping a fresh coat of wax on your paint does wonders at protecting the clear coat in the long run

 

Yeah, I kinda figured whoever had it before me had some acidic skin that caused the spot under the driver's side window. However, it's also happening on the passenger side roof line over the rear quarter window, which I'm putting down to the sun baking it over that black paint. Wax might have helped that, though I have no idea how often the truck was waxed before I got it. I do know that the F250 rarely got waxed and was only washed about once a year in the 10 years I owned it and the paint still looks brand new. My conclusion is that lighter colors tend to deal with the tropical sun far better than darker ones.

 

Dirt actually protects the paint from fading...but typically causes scratches too ..so it's a win-lose
I've seen white paint do just the same as your black ..so I don't think it's the color so much as conditions

 

Hehehe, so are you trying to talk me into rattle-canning it OD green?

You could be right. It's just that almost every older black vehicle I've had has developed issues with the clear coat coming off while not so much with the lighter colored ones. I've seen white paint flatten out and oxidize, but I've never really seen the clear coat peel off it. Of course, it'd be kinda hard to see unless you were looking for it I suppose.

 

First mod completed! Put my cab clearance lights on today! I think they came out pretty awesome.



Update...night shot...

 

Came out pretty good! get ready to get some shit from haters in their big super duty diesels at gas stations I take it you had to drill holes in the roof?

 

Thanks!

Ayup. Holes had to be drilled. But I wasn't skeerd! Really! It was kinda of a biatch to lay out when I realized there wasn't a hard, straight edge on the whole roof to pull measurements off of. Ended up using the ol' Mk 1 eyeball and a couple lines of masking tape to pull straight lines off of.

 

Now that you mention it your lights are a little uneven